1. Field of the Invention
This application relates generally to sample-and-hold circuits. More specifically, this application relates to a sample-and-hold circuit that can reduce the effects of noise in image sensing or other electronic applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Image sensing devices typically consist of an image sensor, generally an array of pixel circuits, as well as signal processing circuitry and any associated control or timing circuitry. Within the image sensor itself, charge is collected in a photoelectric conversion device of the pixel circuit as a result of the impingement of light.
One example of a pixel circuit is illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a pixel circuit 100 includes a photoelectric conversion device 101 (for example, a photodiode), a floating diffusion FD, a transfer transistor 102, a reset transistor 103, an amplification transistor 104, and a selection transistor 105, and a vertical signal line 106. As illustrated, vertical signal line 106 is common to a plurality of pixel circuits within the same column. Alternatively, a vertical signal line may be shared among multiple columns. Gate electrodes of transfer transistor 102, reset transistor 103, and selection transistor 105 receive signals TRG, RST, and SEL, respectively. These signals may, for example, be provided by the control or timing circuitry.
While FIG. 1 illustrates a pixel circuit having four transistors in a particular configuration, the current disclosure is not so limited and may apply to a pixel circuit having fewer or more transistors as well as other elements, such as capacitors, resistors, and the like. Additionally, the current disclosure may be extended to configurations where one or more transistors are shared among multiple photoelectric conversion devices.
The accumulated charge is then converted to a digital value. Such a conversion typically requires several circuit components such as sample-and-hold (S/H) circuits, analog-to-digital converters (ADC), and timing and control circuits, with each circuit component serving a purpose in the conversion. For example, the purpose of the S/H circuit may be to sample the analog signals from different time phases of the photo diode operation, after which the analog signals may be converted to digital form by the ADC.
However, typical sample-and-hold circuit implementations may contain various stray capacitances and stray charge, which may result in inaccuracies in the output of the sample-and-hold circuit. This is undesirable in applications where a high precision of the sample-and-hold is required. Therefore, there exists a need for a method of signal processing that can reduce the impact of noise as a result of stray capacitances and stray charges.